Neutral Safety Switch Help

Just wanna start out by complimenting everyone on this forum. The majority of the time I can't contribute b/c I'm coming here for answers or it's already been said better than I could have said it. ON to the problem....

2001 60th cherokee w/ almost 61K, little over a month ago reverse lights started working intermittently, then stopped altogether. Two weeks ago check engine light came on, local autozone says P0705 and P0456. P0456 is small exhaust leak, hopefully and will be taken care of next paycheck. P0705 is for a misfunction trany contol system... which makes me think NSS b/c of engine light and reverse lights... This past week, every now and again tranny wouldn't shift outta 3rd into 4th. Cycling the tranny gears solved the problem, even more for the NSS... decide to clean it...

Today, get the 12mm adjusting bolt, the 7/8? nut and washer off, did not remove shift linkage. Attempted, for 3 hours, to remove the NSS, but couldn't get it to budge. Tried it in P and N. Various positions w/ hands, various sized/shaped flatheads, M-80's, TNT, C-4, atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs etc. Put the 7/8? nut back on a couple turns and used a flathead and the oil pan as leverage to get if off and slightly stripped the bolt (nut still goes on aok) and nada, nothing, zip... So I'm at a loss... am I missing any other bots, nuts, padlocks, combinations??? Even did a NSS dance, with no luck. Luckily it still runs, knock on wood, so it's not dire. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Maybe tomorrow I'll use some antimatter...

HO yeah, I read everything I could find on here including articles by Jason West from Jeppin.com and Brian Pawlak on dirtdevils.com

Ok first you were along the correct thinking about the NSS when the reverse lights went out as that is controlled by the NSS. However the NSS has nothing to do with the transmission shifting gears or the check engine light coming on. The NSS only controls the reverse lights and preventing the starter from cranking in any gear besides P or N. For the codes you're having and the trouble with the tranny shifting makes it sound like the transmission control unit(TCU) as that would have a greater impact on the problems that you are having. If it is the TCU the best thing to do would get it to a Jeep service center and have them check the TCU and see if it needs replacement.

I got the NSS off. Reverse lights work. Haven't driven it yet tho. Some things to remember for anyone else with neutral safety switch problems not found here:

1. Put the tranny in neutral.
2. With the tranny in neutral, ensure the neutral standard line on the switch is aligned with the vertical groove on the manual valve shaft. There is a vertical line that runs to the left of the adjusting bolt on the NSS housing body. The shift linkage shaft and valve shaft for the NSS will align with this vertical line. Wish I had a diagram to show. With the line and shaft aligned, it makes life easier.
3. Lube. Lube the valve shaft. I used PB blaster.
4. Check all the electrical copper connections within the NSS. Mine had excessive use [thing only has 61K! :( ] in the P and R positions, almost to the point where the copper was completly worn away. The reverse lights work, but I'm gunna replace it with a used NSS at a later date.

http://images1.pictiger.com/images/19/4d6c337a3e6b95ddea8fb109f7c0ad19.jpg (http://images1.pictiger.com/images/19/4d6c337a3e6b95ddea8fb109f7c0ad19.jpg)

Just want to mention for all the future readers of this thread. The NSS which is called the Prindle (PRDNL) switch at the Jeep dealer does control the tranny computer which is why the tranny codes come up. My XJs are 97 and 2001 which is the later body style. My 97 had those same codes which I fixed with the NSS clean mentioned above. My brother was a tech at Chysler-Jeep and they fix those all the time by replacing the Prindle switch ($500). Over at Jeep they NEVER clean it.

They are $500 at the dealership but that also includes labor. You can get them from the auto parts store like auto zone or advanced auto parts for $200 and it takes all of an hour to replace.

the jeep nss part # 4882173 $340.00 there is a reason autozone has lifetime warranty on there parts "your gonna need it"